A government statement said Mitsotakis had spoken to Minister Spilios Livanos, to ask for an explanation of his reaction to the “unacceptable signal”.
The statement added that Livanos “confessed that he should have acted differently” and offered to submit his resignation, which was accepted.
The video was taken during a meeting attended by the minister last week in Sparta, southern Greece.
At the meeting, the mayor, a former government official when Mitsotakis’ conservative New Democracy party was in power from 2004 to 2009, was heard saying that the party could have won the 2007 election against the odds “by offering bags (of money) To compensate” people affected by the forest fires that swept southern Greece weeks ago, killing dozens of people.
In the clip, Livanos laughed and said it would be hard to match this “legendary feat”.
During his visit to Sparta, the minister announced the payment of compensation to farmers who had suffered damage to crops due to frost.
Mitsotakis took over the party leadership in 2016 and was not a member of the 2004-2009 government. The next Greek parliamentary elections are scheduled for next year.
